Vehicle light director



March 27, 1934. E. s. TIMMONS VEHICLE LIGHT DIRECTOR Filed July 30 1932 l U I,

VEHICLE LIHGHT' DIRECTOR Edwin S. Timmons, Chicago, Ill. Application July 30, 1932, Serial N6. 626,855

3 Claims. (01. 240-4214) This invention which relates to vehicle light directors has particular reference to a frame which is secured coincident with the lens to the headlight, the frame being adapted to support vanes parallel to the axis of the reflector. The vanes are assembled to the frame providing a unit which may be attached with a suitably shaped lens to a headlight for directing the rays therefrom downwardly below the line of driving vision.

A suggestive embodiment of my invention is set forth in the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a headlight in which the present device is assembled, the section being taken as indicated on line 1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a view on a reduced scale of the frame and vanes assembled as a unit, the same being viewed as indicated by the line 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a greatly enlarged detail view in section of one of the centering and supporting screws;

N Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the frame showing the supporting rods secured thereto, the section being taken on the line 5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in section of part of the frame only;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing a slightly modified form of frame; and

Fig. 8 is a further modified form of frame construction.

In the drawing, A represents a headlight shell in which is mounted a reflector B in a well known manner. A lens C is adapted to close the open end of the headlight, the lens being secured as by a clamping rim D. Behind the lens is mounted a vane unit E which may comprise a frame 10, preferably made of sheet metal or the like, having a flange 11 secured thereto intermediate its edges and extending outwardly at right angles thereto. Attached to one of the sides of the flange is a resilient pad 12 adapted to form a cushion between the flange 11 and a flange 13 on the reflector.

Within the frame is mounted a plurality of vanes 14 which are supported on rods 15 in a manner which is fully described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 577,945, filed November 30,

1931, and need not be described here in detail. Briefly, the vanes are provided with pairs of tapered slots 16 through which the rods 15 are placed, each slot being angularly disposed with respect to the center line of the vane and oppositely directed to that of the companion slot of the pair. Interposed between the vanes and at spaced intervals are plates 17 having slots 18 similar to those in the vanes but oppositely directed and tapered. Attached to the plates are springs 19 which are in turn secured to the frame, the springs being adapted to move the plates outwardly from the center of the frame thus wedging the rods 15 in the slots 16 and 18.

The frame is provided with elongated openings 20 which are in alignment with the openings in the vanes so that the rods 15 extend therein. Centrally of the edges of the frame are ribs 21 formed by crimping the metal inwardly, as shown in Fig. 3. These ribs may extend part way along each side of the frame, each rib being provided with openings 22 to receive the ends of the springs 19.

,When the rods 15 the vanes 14 and plates hooked through the openings 22, the rod ends are then secured in the openings 20. Preferably, a washer 23 is placed over the end of each rod and solder 24 placed thereover, thus securing the rod ends in the proper position in the opening 20. Y

In order that the frame may remain centrally of the lens the frame is provided with a series of screws 26 in threaded connection therewith which extend radially therethrough, each screw being provided with a head 2'7 and a point 28. Secured within the lens C are equally spaced resilient cushions 29 upon which the head 2'7 abuts and the point 28 impinges. Primarily, the purpose of the screws is to center the frame with respect to the lens, but obviously they might be used to secure the frame within the lens.

With the supporting rods, vanes and frame assembled together, as shown in Fig. 2, this vane unit is next placed in the bowl-shaped lens C whereupon the screws 26 are adjusted to center the unit with respect to the lens and secured by lock nuts 30. The lens and vane unit are then placed adjacent the reflector and the rim D put in place and tightened, thus securing the parts together.

The frame may be slightly modified, as shown in Fig. 7, to facilitate securing the rod ends. In this form the frame 10 is provided with ears 32 struck inwardly therefrom and perpendicular to the rods 15. Each ear is provided with a slot 33 through which the rods extend, the rods being fastened as by solder in a manner previously described.

To expedite manufacturing, the frame may be made in accordance with the construction shown have been put in place in 17, and the springs 19 sTATEs PATENT- OFFICE 1s so in Fig. 8, in which two rings which are L-shaped in cross section and identical throughout are placed with the flanges adjacent each other and secured together as by soldering or spot welding.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle light director, the combination of vanes arranged in parallelism, a frame encircling -the vanes;v ears having;,openings;there-. on turned inwardly from the sframe,:. supporting; rods extending through the vanes and the openings in the ears, means for securing the rod ends within the openings, and a rim secured to thee frame intermediate its edges by which the frame is secured to the headlight.

2. In a vehicle light director, theicombinationi of vanes arranged in parallelism, a frame encirsoar cling the vanes, slotted ears turned inwardly from the frame and arranged parallel with the vanes, supporting rods attached to the vanes and extending through the slots in the ears, means for securing the rod ends within the slots, and a rim afiixed to the frame by which the frame is secured to the headlight.

3. A vehicle light director in combination with a bowl-shapeddenshaving a peripheral wall, resilient padsszsecured to.:.the inner side of the peripheral wall, a frame adapted to lie within the bowl-shaped lens, parallel vanes secured to andvlying within the confines of the frame, and means extending radially from the frame and bearing-against the resilient pads whereby the framenisncentered with respect to the lens.

EDWIN S. 'I'IMMONS. 

